AM~Erica is Gonna Get Burned

So anyway...

Summer vacation is quickly upon us. And Memorial Day is right around the corner to kick off the summer season (even though it doesn't REALLY truly officially happen until June 20-something). So, time to get prepared, right?

Not too long ago, I brought up swimwear. I'm still on the search for my perfect dream swimsuit! But, in the meantime, I need to deal with a bigger issue for me: the sun.

It has come out that any sunscreen (it's no longer "PC" to say "sunBLOCK") with any higher SPF protection of 50 will do no good & will, therefore, be discontinued.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooo...!!!!

This is oh-so-very wrong!! Who the heck did they test? It certainly wasn't any of the fair-skinned brand of folks. *raises hand*

So, what are the those with the Irish, Scottish & Netherlands blood supposed to do in this situation? And what about the albino folk? (See? Still talking about you, Nikki!) Well, since we obviously weren't asked...we are left to do one thing:

FRY!

There is gonna be a slue of crispy critters going around since the sunscreen will only act as a marinade for us. Trust me.

Wanna know what I use on the kiddos & myself? I use this amazing, magical brew:

That's right. It's hardcore stuff. And I love it! It's the stuff that actually works for me. And it works for my kiddos. Well, the fair skin ones. Teen boy got the working complexion of his dad's Native American side. Teen girl & lil guy sport my Irish complexion. Nice, right? And I have used & tested a WHOLE lot of different lotions to fight off the sun for the sake of our poor skin. And this is it! Now? They are planning on taking it away.

Happy May...Melanoma Awareness Month! Let's take away what actually helps the fair skin peeps & let 'em fry like lobsters. Awesome!

Oh man, oh man...I am hurting just thinking about it. *sigh*

And if any of you doubt my paleness, I have a couple of stories for you from high school. And my skin hasn't changed in that time. So here we go:

1. I remember being in one of my "I don't care" moods one day. So, I wore cut off sweats that were turned into shorts (shut up, they were cute in the early 90's) & a souvenir-type tshirt. I was sitting in the choir room when my good pal Nikki (Hi, again, Nik! Still talking about ya!) came & sat next to me to talk, as usual. She had a weird freak out moment when she realized an awful truth & shared it with me. Well, the truth was awful for me & joyous for her. My albino friend had discovered that my pasty legs were whiter than hers! UGH!! And then, my fabulously loud & eccentric friend declared to our whole class of her discovery. *face palm*

2. I did track my senior year at the nudging of my friend Cara. (Hi, Cara...in case you read this). She wanted to "get in shape" & convinced me to do it with her. And we were both dancers at that point in our lives. But we didn't want to run or anything. So, what was left? Oh, I know...shotput & discus! I'm not kidding. I'm shaking my own head as I type this. Anyhoo...this meant we were outside in the elements everyday to practice. I eventually got a tan line! Farmer's kind of tan line, but it still proved that I had color! Woot! I was excited until another classmate looked at my legs one day & proclaimed that I needed to get a tan. Imagine her face when I moved my sock to reveal my tan line. *face palm*

So...you get my point right? I didn't earn the nickname of "Casper" in high school without merit! (Right, Crispy Legs?)

I can burn in a 10-minute, partly cloudy outing. Oh yes...be jealous. Maybe it's a superpower!

Nonetheless, getting rid of the higher SPF products just isn't right. I will take my vitamin D by chugging milk, just don't make me get skin cancer because Dr. Tanhide doesn't feel higher numbers do anyone any good. Hope you enjoy your trips to the Carribean! Grrrrr...

I have no aspirations of being like the Tan Mom (ick!) & I would still prefer to keep myself from looking like leather to any extent if possible.

Maybe I'll feel differently when I get my dream swimsuit. I'll just have to worry about my crispy critter of a face.

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica is Eyeing Swimsuit Season

So anyway...

We have officially entered May. Where does the time go? 2012 is slipping away quite quickly!

But, no matter what, there is an explosion of swimwear everywhere once May hits. There's always a little bit in December thru February (yuck) for those going on spring break, but it's the approaching hot weather that makes us want to wear much less & jump into some kind of body of water.

However, I always find this swimsuit finding a challenge. I'm like so many other women who dread it. But it's not for the same reasons necessarily.

If you haven't picked up on it by now, I am SUPER fair skinned. I fry...easily. So, on top of swimwear, I have to find mega sunscreen, too. And for the "experts" who say that going over a 30 or 45 SPF does no good, you have tested the WRONG people!! That low of an SPF is just a marinade for my skin. I'm not kidding. I have found that Walgreen's 90+ SPF is fantastic for me. It's OK...I hear you laughing out of shock, but it's true. So, so true. I always look for swimwear that covers more so it is less likely for sunscreen to be my marinade.

Also, I am modest. I love me some fashion. Many of you know that. But, if you truly pay attention, I have this philosophy that you can look great AND not have to have everything hanging out. So, again, the more covered...the better.

I have told people in the past what my dream swimsuit would be. I think some might think I'm joking, but I'm not. Here is an example of my dream swimsuit:

Nice, right? I think so! I can be covered, so less sunscreen (much, much less) AND my modesty is taken care of.

Until then...I will be wearing my 2-piece tankini with boy shorts. Because it covers more than most 1-piece swimsuits now.

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica